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Old Stone House in Water-soluble Graphite

The story Behind the Sketch:

On one of the unusually-warm days this  March, a couple of artist friends & I met at Renfrew park, Waynesboro, Pa.,  which is an old farmstead that has been preserved. Among the buildings is a simply-built stone house, which from our vantage point could be seen in the distance. I had brought other work to do, figuring I’d just enjoy the companionship & the lovely setting, but  succumbed to the urge to do something local.

The experience:

I decided to make this a loose, quick, enjoyable piece, so pulled out my  water-soluble graphite pencils & gave them a try on the water color paper I had at  hand. I enjoyed the freedom of drawing-in the lines, & then being able to blur them and spread them with a damp brush. I realized that I was getting the full benefit of being outdoors in a scenic setting; working from the 3-D honest-to gosh REAL thing—( as opposed to working from a photo) —brings me a sense of “merging” with my subject. I like it!

The technical stuff:

Derwent Graphitone water-soluble pencils were used, on Canson XL watercolor tablet. ( Not the best watercolor paper in the world, as it will “pill” if wiped-over when too damp  ; however it makes a great, inexpensive,  substrate for renderings where few corrections & little lifting or wiping-away will  be done.  It gives some texture to dry graphite lines , too. )

NOTE: All images and text in this post are Copyright K. A. Renninger 2011. I am happy to have you share them through your own blog, and hope you will do so— but you must give me credit. Anyone who uses them to make money will be prosecuted.